Podcast INTO GERMANY!
Episode 14: How Germany Works Out
- January 2024 -
Germans are keeping in better shape and living longer, but that’s increasing health demands of active older people. As fitness and ageing continue to dovetail, new business niches are emerging.
Dec 29, 2023
As Germany’s median age rises, new opportunities are opening the med-tech sector, for instance in the area of physiotherapy. At the same time, “silver agers” determined to remain active and fit in their later years is configuring the market for fitness clubs and service. There’s plenty of room in industry for international players.
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Our Guests
Davide Ferrario and Marco Sauer are with Movendo Technology, an Italian company pioneering robotic physiotherapeutic devices driven by artificial intelligence. The machines are being used to help people retain mobility into advanced age and recover more quickly from injuries.
Florian Brauer is senior global product manager at FIBO, Germany’s annual fitness trade fair, and the largest of its kind in the world. FIBO will be held again in Cologne in April 2024.
Transcript of this episode
| This transcript was partly generated automatically, text errors are possible |
Presenter
This, is the sound of people in Germany fighting humankind’s greatest enemy...mortality.
That's right: as the median age in Germany rises, people are spending more time and money keeping themselves fit. No country in Europe has more people enrolled in gyms and sports clubs. But in terms of percentage of the population there’s lots of room to grow. Moreover, with Germans getting fitter and living longer, new markets are opening in the med-tech sector, including for robot physiotherapists!
Hello and welcome to Into Germany, the German business podcast, brought to you by Germany’s international business promotion agency, Germany Trade & Invest. I’m Kelly O'Brien.
This time around we look at the physiotherapy and fitness market. A recent IPSOS study of 29 nations found that Germans spend just over 11 hours per week exercising or doing sport. That's nearly double the amount of Americans or Britons... suggesting Germans are a very fit people. Actually, Germans were second in the study. The most fit nation may surprise you, but we won't reveal that until the end of this podcast!
Florian Brauer, FIB0
"Well, first of all, it means that you have a whole range of people that want to stay in shape. And that's a general thing that we recognize that people have a greater awareness of how health impacts their lives, meaning that if they stay in shape and if they stay healthy, they can achieve more also when they're older. And basically, the industry is trying to get people more active every day and again, to create more awareness that that yeah, that it can definitely help you to live a longer and healthier life."
Presenter
That was Florian Brauer, from the FIBO fitness trade fair in Germany, the largest in the world. We'll hear more from him later in this podcast.
But first, let's get back to demographics. Because so many Germans are leading healthy lifestyles, they are also living much longer. The number of retirees in Germany will quickly rise to at least 20 million in the next decade. And that means significant market growth not only for fitness but for physical rehabilitation.
Our first guests are from an Italian company called Movendo Technology. Movendo has developed a robot called Hunova which is the world's first robotic physiotherapist which implements artificial intelligence to assess impairments and provide treatments. The technology holds promise for improving levels of therapeutic care as Germany's population gets older.
We have with us Davide Ferrario, Movendo's sales and marketing director, and Marco Sauer, country director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Davide... please tell us how Movendo got started.
Davide Ferrario
"Of course. So the technology started in 2017 from the Italian Institute of Technology. That is one of the biggest European research institutes focusing on robotics. So at that time, Movendo founder and the idea of using a part of the robotics invented to develop a product in the system, a robotic system that then became, you know, a system to basically support the structure of the rehabilitation process. So from that point, you know, what started life as a rehabilitation to learn to evaluate and treat the patients in the neurological, orthopedic and geriatric area. As mentioned, we started in 2017. Fast forward 5 to 6 years from where we are now at around the 180 devices that all over the world."
Presenter
And how does Hunova work, it is like a platform with sensors and displays and the patient steps into it?
Davide Ferrario
"So some of that in the first step is for sure stepping inside that instead, you know, what did you say? Double or what system in the ten 50 minutes. So it's possible to perform several automatic evaluations and robotic evaluations that together with the information that if you think there is something in the system, are providing an overall evaluation of the person, a score from 0 to 100% of the functionality in this case of the opinion. And based on that so you know, is creating a rehabilitation program and initial program that if he's a therapist can accept, modify or completely change and based on that, then the patients can go on the start of communication. Then 15, 20 minutes of the session with, you know, and the robotic on Hunova , you know, ways to be able to move and mobilize the patient so you can support the physiotherapist that during the difficult and hard labor or intense movements that needs to perform with the patients."
Presenter
So Marco, how are our listeners to picture Hu-nova? Do patients sit down or stand up on the device?
Marco Sauer
" And then you have the main experience that patients are facing is, first of all, sitting and standing. So it's both and this is really unique to this system. So you can use it while standing or you can use it the other way around while sitting. What makes this system unique in terms of that you will not find so far is a competitor who is providing a combination of seat and standing, extending applications in combination with the cognitive level as well. What the system is providing besides seat and platform is a screen on which we are displaying the functions of the patients, the movement of the patients as well as the gamification applications. So it's, a touchscreen. And the combination of all of this. So this is the experience the patient is running while being treated."
Presenter
And what are the most typical applications then of Hunova?
Marco Sauer
"So the treatment and the system is focused on patients who are suffering from traumatic brain injury or a stroke or, for example, spinal cord injury. So every time you are facing impairments with your balance and proprioceptive recognition, let me say it in this way. So this is the system can help you in the sense of better. And in terms of the physiotherapist. Okay, where are the main impairments? Where are the main areas the patient is suffering from."
Presenter
Tell us about the robot's ability to assess the risk of falling for older people...
a key problem as we get older. I think you call it the Silver Index...
Marco Sauer
" In terms of geriatrics, we provide a silver index. The index means we can measure the risk of fall of the patients of an age of above 65, and we can make or the system is providing a forecast about the risk of fall over the next 12 months. And this is something we are very close to, to health insurance companies in Germany, currently, especially to one insurance company which is running with us. The study in terms of the silver index, the risk of prevention. And currently we are about to close the contract, the direct contract, which I have insurance company. In terms of that, we will place this silver index in terms of or in the package of a program of a model, a certain model which provides to patients insured by this certain health insurance company treatments Hunova assessments on Hanover. And you are to make their life let me say it in this way much safer in terms of reducing the risk of fall."
Presenter
So Hu-nova's A-I identifies a person's weaknesses in terms of the way their body reacts to being off-balance. And then the robots train them to be better prepared for a fall. That really is Vorsprung durch Technik, or progress through technology. No secret then that Germany and its aging body builders is a key market for this...
Davide Ferrario
"Okay so basically they did the interest in Germany started because he's since the beginning, uh, we, uh, we selected Germany as in the, in the overall of that area. Uh, is that in there, in interest, the, where the, the practitioners, the, the physicians are very well known to use high quality treatments and the to the to know technologies. Consider that on top of Germany we are also working directly obviously any country being any kind of company but also in the in the US. So these are our three main markets where we go directly to Germany for sure because of culture and because of the preparation of the excitatory and the physiotherapist. The was one of the important spots to be to be in."
Presenter
How did Germany Trade and Invest help you get started, Davide?
Davide Ferrario
"At the beginning. At the very beginning, we had their support to open up. Uh, they had ended the first contact. Sit down. Of course, I didn't have any important contacts because they are the early adopters of the technology. So they were and they were supportive. And then we were able to, to get in contact, at least with the clinical practitioners to discuss and to showcase the concept of the technology."
Presenter
So, Marco, you have already installed about 30 Hunovas here in Germany. Tell us a little about what the market here means to your company.
Marco Sauer
"My feeling is and this is what's coming, especially from my experience of over the past 20, 25 years in this field is if you have a proof of concept in in Germany especially, you will face the same situation or you will be successful as well. Let me say it in this way and in other areas and other countries as well. So once you have received proof of concept here, it's more or less a door opener to access other markets too."
Presenter
And of course, your product also fits perfectly with Germany's demographic transition, as fit seniors are living longer, increasing demand for long-term health care.
Marco Sauer
"We are happy about what's going on regarding two demographics because and this is just focused on what we are providing on, you know, the with the silver index because we are aligned. What's with what's going on in terms of demographics, we provide an index, we provide that service on Hunova, which is tailored to exactly this generation we are facing. And the survey ager, let me say it in this way the people of 65 and above in terms of for risk prevention. But we are as well thinking about more in this is about to come to support this generation especially in terms of reducing the reducing impairments and whatever. So and therefore the over is from my perspective from an excellent tool to to support this this group of people, especially here in Germany. As I said, the Silver Age population is aging."
Presenter
Well thanks for that Davide Ferrario, and Marco Sauer, from Movendo, the Italian company selling a robotic physiotherapy device in Germany that is driven by artificial intelligence.
Sophisticated med-tech devices are important in Germany because people here are living longer, partly because they are in better shape! To get the fitness perspective on that, and what it means for foreign investors, we'll speak next with Florian Brauer, a senior brand manager at the largest fitness and body building show in the world. We'll also tell you about the only country in the world where people spend more time exercising than Germany.
But first, on to some other news on Germany's business front, compiled by Germany Trade and Invest, Germany's investment promotion agency.
Medical Expansion
Eli Lilly and Company, one of the world’s leading producers of injectable medical products and injection devices, will be expanding its presence in Germany with a facility costing some 2.3 billion euros. The company specializes in treating such conditions as diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. The facility will be located in the western town of Alzey.
European Unicorns
There was less venture capital invested in startups around the world in 2023. But Germany maintained its position as one of Europe’s top locations for innovative young companies. According to the annual “State of European Tech” report, published by Atomico, HSBC and others, 4 of seven newly-minted European unicorns came from Germany. Germany currently has the largest number of unicorns in the European Union.
Full Fund
Staying with start-ups, it was announced in late November that the public-private fund Wachstumsfonds Deutschland has attained its billion-euro goal. The fund is a pillar of the government’s plans to improve financing for start-ups and technologically innovative firms. It’s one of the largest venture capital funds ever in Europe. It’s backed by the national government, the state economic bank KfW and more than twenty institutional investors, including insurance and wealth management companies.
Pet Potential
Another start-up that is doing well in Germany is Lassie, which specializes in house pets. The Swedish insur-tech company expanded to Germany at the start of 2023 and raised 23 million euros in Series B funding. Germans spend some 6 point 5 billion euros a year on pet food and accessories alone. And the world market for pets is expected to reach half a trillion dollars by 2030.
And finally...Relative Recovery
The fitness business is recovering from the damage caused by the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the online portal Fitness Management, fitness clubs in Germany added 400,000 members in the first half of 2023, and training frequency increased by 25 percent. Currently 10.7 million of the 83 million people in Germany work out in fitness clubs, but that still lags behind the 11.7 million fitness club users recorded before corona in December 2019.
Presenter
So the fitness trend is positive once again, but there is lots of room for improvement. But who’s going to the local gym to pump iron? The European statistics office reports that 25% of all fitness club members in Germany are now over the age of 50. Also, the percentage of seniors who visit a fitness studio at least once a month is now identical to those in their twenties.
The fitness boom in Germany started nearly forty years ago, when bodybuilding went from a niche subculture to a fixture of the mainstream lifestyle it is today.
Florian Brauer, you're a senior brand manager at Cologne's spectacular FIBO fitness trade fair. So give us some background.
Florian Brauer
"So FIBO is really by far the biggest fitness show in the world. And I have to say fitness trade show because it's still an actual trade show. It was founded in 1985 and FIBO original sense of fitness and bodybuilding. So that's how it started. And in in the mid-eighties, you know, there was bodybuilding was huge, you know, and which started in the U.S., then came over to Germany and some bright people had the brilliant idea to say, look, let's build a marketplace where people can exchange, where people meet, etc. So this is how it started. And now we are looking at. So, before the pandemic in 2019, we had 155,000 visitors coming from all over the world. It is A, B to B and B to C show. So it runs for four days and the first two days is B2B only. So this is when the club owners come in to look at new equipment, to make new deals, etc., and also to sit in the educational sessions to learn more about how is the global market developing, etc. And then we'll open up for the consumers on the weekend and have special offers for them, etc.. So of course, during the pandemic we could not execute trade shows in Germany and so between 2019 and 20. 22. We did not have a feeble but then came back. Um, I would say quite strong. We're not at the level of 2019 yet, but we're, we're getting there and people from all over the world are coming back. Visitor wise, but also in terms of exhibiting companies."
Presenter
The fitness and bodybuilding business is quite big in Germany then, the largest in Europe?
Florian Brauer
"So when we look at the German fitness market, we speak about roughly 5 billion U.S. dollars. That's the volume that has been, how do you say has been evaluated by a different entity. Studies look for data, etc., and it is quite big within Europe. Actually, if you look at it, Germany, besides the US is one of the biggest fitness markets in the world and especially within Europe. That's because Germany, of course, is population wise, the biggest country in Europe. But yeah, we have around 10.4 million people working out in commercial fitness clubs in in Germany. That is comparable to the UK. The UK has quite similar numbers. So within Europe, UK and Germany are by far the biggest market. We often look at the European markets as a whole just to compare it to the big monster of the US fitness market. And you know, we can definitely say that, that we're quite far ahead of other markets.”[ke1]
Presenter
You described the impact of the Covid pandemic on the trade fair, so presumably that goes for the sector as a whole... how is the market recovering from Covid, would you say?
Florian Brauer
"Yeah, the I mean, it had it had a great impact. I mean, great not meaning good because clubs had to close down, um, from mid 2020 and then, you know, a back and forth. They were open, then they closed again. That, by the way, was a phenomenon not only in Germany but worldwide. So it, it really this really had an impact of the global fitness community or a global fitness market. And um, well, coming back to Germany, I think in 21 from revenues, from what I was saying, 5 billion went down to roughly 2 billion. So yeah, so it really crashed and clubs lost a lot of members and this is basically what's happening were almost quite even to where we were before the pandemic. Now in terms of of members in the clubs. But no, it had great impact of the landscape. And of course, people started to find alternatives to working out in a club. So working out from home, those who have the room for it purchased maybe home equipment. Of course using virtual offers of training online has all increased. But what we also see is that people who have acquired home fitness equipment, etc. are more likely to be members in clubs and stay in clubs. So basically, all goes a bit hand in hand And um, and for sure it's, it has changed the way people exercise."
Presenter
You mentioned how the Covid restrictions led to a rise in virtual training courses online... how else has technology changed business?
Florian Brauer
" Well, I mean, when you look at. The different devices that you have, for instance, the wearables, everyone seems to have something like an Apple Watch or similar. That is, first of all, gathering data, gathering data about what you're doing, How is your performance every day? So now you can actually have a quick look at your watch and see a lot of how you're actually performing. And that combined with many different apps, you know, sleeping apps, the apps about your nutritional behavior, also, it motivates a lot. It motivates people to do more. If your watch is telling you, look, you have not reached your minimum. Some level of physical activity today. It pushes you to maybe go out and take an extra round around the block or, you know, to leave the car and walk to the supermarket or whatever. So this is one part. And then on the other hand, also for the commercial clubs, gathering data is absolutely important to train people and to see and say, look, this is where you're weak. This is where we have to work with to get you back in shape. So it actually has a real great importance. And again, you can use it at home. You can use it in a commercial club. You can use it wherever you travel.”[ke2]
Presenter
How would describe the German health and fitness sector in terms of access for foreign investors, Florian. Is there market share available?
Florian Brauer
"I mean, it depends. Like if you want to start small and say, hey, let's start three clubs and see where we're going and then take it from there and grow it. Or if you say, Hey, we want to go in big, we may want to acquire clubs that are already out there for sale. So in Germany we have still a pretty good structure where it's not so dominated by big chains. There is a lot of single owner clubs still in Germany that ultimately is good for our trade fair because there is more buyers that are actually coming to the show. Um, but no, I wouldn't say that it's too hard. Um, there is definitely an opportunity to look at the market. There is good data available, um, provided either by Europe active, which is the European Association, but also strong German associations like DSSV."
Presenter
So just wrapping-up here, I see Gold's Gym, the Venice California-based bodybuilding empire popularized by a guy with a German accent known as Arnold Schwarzenegger has been acquired by a German fitness conglomerate RSG. The RSG Group probably owns the most fitness clubs in Germany, right?
Florian Brauer
"Yes they are. Yeah. I would say in terms of number of clubs, um, they're probably still the strongest in Germany. Um, in Europe you have comparable entities like Basic Fit, for instance, who are very strong in, in the Netherlands and France and Southern Europe, but they're also coming to the German market."
Presenter
Thanks for this Florian Brauer, global brand manager for Germany's FIBO fitness fair.
Actually, the Basic Fit chain from the Netherlands that Florian mentioned is already expanding rapidly in Western Germany.
Turns out the Dutch company is the largest fitness chain in all of Europe, with 3.3 million members.
Which reminds me, at the top of the podcast, we promised to tell you who were more fit than the Germans. Well, it is the Dutch! According to a survey by IPSOS, the Dutch spend an average of 12 hours a week exercising, more than any other nation they surveyed.
Now, on to How Germany Works.
So we’ve just gotten an assessment from FIBO. The annual trade fair for fitness health and wellness is held every year in the spring in Cologne, and it’s no accident that it takes place in Germany. Trade fairs are a massive important element in the German economy. How massive? The Association of the German Trade Fair Industry says that the Germany has three million of the forty million square meters of trade fair space in the world. And four out of ten of the world’s largest exhibition grounds are located in Germany: in Hannover, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne and Düsseldorf. So when business is done in Germany, it’s very often at a trade fair.
And THAT’s How Germany Works ... out!
Presenter
We’re just about done with this episode. We hope you've gained some valuable insight into how Germany's booming physiotherapy and fitness market is opening up opportunities for innovative med-tech and other companies. We'd like to thank again our guests from Movendo Technology and the FIBO fitness trade fair, for sharing their views.
If you think your company is ready to do some heavy lifting in Germany, remember Germany Trade & Invest can help, and at no charge, because we’re a government agency.
Get in touch at gtai.com. We’re also keen on your opinions, suggestions and questions. Please leave a comment in your favorite podcast app or drop us a line. You’ll find all the details in our show notes.
So, till next month, stay fit, Auf Wiederhören and remember: Germany means business.
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